Regional

The Kentucky Supreme Court has ruled that a gay woman may proceed with her efforts to obtain joint custody of a girl borne by her ex-partner when they were still together.

The court issued its ruling Thursday.

The woman, identified as Amy, had asked the court to block adoption proceedings by her ex-partner's husband. The girl's mother became pregnant with the help of a sperm donor. She gave birth in 2006 when she and Amy were still a couple.

The case is among several across the country involving wrenching personal questions about what it means to be a parent under today's ever-changing definition of family in the eyes of the law.

Kentucky Baptists who have experience in providing clean drinking water in under-developed countries are headed to Michigan.

Five teams will leave Monday for Flint to install water purification systems for families dealing with lead contamination.

Coy Webb, head of Kentucky Baptist Disaster Relief, said the teams want the residents of Flint to know people are paying attention to what happened there.

"I think anytime there's long-term problems they just feel like people aren't taking notice of their needs, which many times is not true, but they still feel that way," Webb told WKU Public Radio. "We hope our teams going door to door can not only give them safe drinking water, but also let them know there are people who care about them."

Teams will be leaving from several Kentucky cities, including Beaver Dam. In the past year, the Baptists have been deployed to Zambia and Mozambique to provide safe drinking water, but Webb said this will be the first time to his knowledge, that relief teams have been dispatched in the U.S. on a water purification mission.

Counties surrounding Fort Knox are working to lessen their reliance on the post in the face of military cutbacks.

A study is underway to determine how the region might diversify to improve the local economy. Wendell Lawrence, executive director of the Lincoln Trail Area Development District, says discussions like this are happening across the country.

"It is Army wide because the end strength seems to be going down quite frequently, and when you have cutbacks in strength, it affects units and installations," Lawrence told WKU Public Radio.

Fort Knox has lost at least 2,3000 soldiers since 2010, in addition to their family members and civilian employees.

Lawrence says cutbacks at Fort Knox have the potential to affect more than 150,000 residents of Hardin, Larue, and Meade counties.

He added that the region has several assets as it looks to diversify, including manufacturing, agriculture, and tourism.

A federal judge ruled Tuesday that Kentucky clerk Kim Davis has obeyed his orders in the months since she spent five nights in jail for refusing to license same-sex marriages.

United States District Judge David Bunning wrote that Davis has allowed her deputies to issue marriage licenses and dismissed a request from the American Civil Liberties Union to consider ordering her to reissue licenses she altered to remove her name.

After the United States Supreme Court legalized gay marriage last summer, Davis refused to allow her office to issue marriage licenses. She relented during a turbulent court battle, but altered the licenses.

The ACLU asked the judge to make her reissue the marriage licenses.

Bunning on Tuesday found that request to be “moot”; he said the altered licenses are valid.

Three advocates for LGBT rights who were arrested last year at the state fair’s Kentucky Farm Bureau Country Ham Breakfast & Auction have filed a lawsuit against the Kentucky State Police.

The suit was filed Monday evening in Jefferson Circuit Court. The plaintiffs are arguing false arrest, First Amendment free speech violation, First Amendment retaliation and malicious prosecution. The suit also seeks punitive damages.

Chris Hartman, executive director of the Fairness Campaign, and fellow activists Sonja de Vries and Carla Wallace, were arrested in August while protesting at the annual breakfast event, which is considered a staple of the Kentucky State Fair.

Board members review the cases of children who have been put in foster care because of dependency, abuse, or neglect. Volunteers complete a six-hour training session and must consent to a to criminal record and Central Registry check.

Dolores Smith is a unit supervisor with the review board program. She says the boards are looking for volunteers from many different backgrounds.

“The number one thing we look for is someone who has a genuine concern for child welfare—that’s the overriding feature,” Smith said. “Kentucky statutes also mention that we look for different professions, like education, social work, psychology, medical, and legal fields.”

Bowling Green mayor Bruce Wilkerson is adding the title of college president to his resume.

Daymar College announced Wednesday that Wilkerson will lead their campus in Bowling Green.

He’ll continue as the city’s mayor.

The Owensboro-based school’s campus in Warren County had 214 students enrolled last year, and produced 133 graduates.

Wilkerson said he’ll focus on the quality of students, not quantity.

“Numbers aren’t the important part," the Bowling Green Mayor said. "Our focus will be on the individual student and making sure they have the opportunity to meet the goals they’ve set for themselves. We hope that in doing that, the reputation of Daymar will lead us to grow.”

Daymar’s reputation took a hit in 2014 when it was sued by then-Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway for alleged violations of the state’s Consumer Protection Act.

A religious group building a massive Noah’s Ark tourist attraction in Kentucky has won a legal battle over the state’s withdrawal of a potential tax incentive worth millions.

A federal judge ruled Monday that Kentucky officials violated the ark builders’ First Amendment protections by blocking it from the sales tax tourism incentive that could have been worth up to $18 million.

The Ark Encounter, being built by Christian group Answers in Genesis, is due to open in July.

U.S. District Judge Gregory Van Tatenhove ruled the state’s Tourism Cabinet cannot exclude the ark attraction from the incentive based on its “religious purpose and message.” The state initially celebrated the project but reversed course in late 2014.

Answers in Genesis founder Ken Ham says the ruling is a “victory for the free exercise of religion in this country.”

Last week’s winter storm set a record in Bowling Green. Friday’s snowfall was the third unusually large snowstorm to impact the region in the past 12 months.

The 12.2-inch snowfall was the third largest single-day snowfall in Bowling Green history dating back to 1893. State Climatologist Stuart Foster at WKU said the snow also came on the heels of nearly ten inches in February 2015 and more than seven inches last March.

"Those came with a lot of complicating factors in terms of some frigid temperatures and then after one of those events, we had a lot of rain on top of that," Foster said. "While we had a lot of snow this time, we kind of dodged a bullet too."

During the peak of Friday’s snow storm, more than seven inches of snow fell in a six-hour period between 7:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m.

Eastern portions of the state also posted some impressive snowfall amounts of up to 22 inches. Accumulations were much lower in western Kentucky.

A top Democrat in the Kentucky House says he will not seek re-election.

Johnny Bell of Glasgow plans to retire from the General Assembly after eight years.

The House Majority Whip says the political atmosphere in federal and state legislatures has changed, and it’s more about politics than about serving the people. The 50-year-old Bell serves Barren and a portion of Warren County.

His announcement comes as Democrats hold a narrow 50-46 majority in the Kentucky House with four seats up for grabs in a special election March 8.

Glasgow Attorney Danny Basil and City Councilman Joe Trigg, both Democrats, will run for Bell’s seat along with Republicans Freddie Joe Wilkerson and Steve Riley.

Tuesday is the filing deadline for candidates seeking office this year.